There is nothing more British than a biscuit. Whether the summer heralds torrential rain or blazing sunshine, we have a biscuit to match. Grey and gloomy skies? Shortbread, gingerbread and squashed fly biscuits it is. Soaring temperatures and sun lotion? Bring out the lady’s kisses and ice-cream sandwiches (or “sliders”, as they are known in Scotland). Whatever the weather, a Brit without a biscuit is like a dodger without the jam.

These recipes, and a great many more, are presented with panache in the aptly named book Biscuit, by Miranda Gore Browne, who was a finalist from The Great British Bake Off in 2010. This is a comprehensive guide to the art of biscuitery, featuring everything from “biscuits for beginners” through to “celebration biscuits” and, rather wonderfully, “almost healthy biscuits”. The Sunday Telegraph joined Miranda in her kitchen in West Sussex to observe her in action.

“I thought we’d start off with good old jammy dodgers,” says Miranda, arranging ingredients on the table. “They’re colourful, cheery and fun, and they bring a smile to everyone’s face.” Perfect, that is, for cheering up the children hunched under a tree during a rainy country walk.

Watching Miranda at work means picking up little iced gems of practical wisdom. For example: softening butter. “If you use the microwave, the butter goes oily,” she says. “Then you get annoying little puddles when you bake it.” She fills a bowl with lukewarm water, which she refers to as a “baby bath” (she has a new baby called Henry) and floats the butter in it. “It softens naturally, evenly and quickly,” she explains.

Much of Miranda’s art is more like science. “You have to be completely precise,” she says, weighing out exactly 100g of golden caster sugar using digital scales. “A lot of people think you can just chuck it all in. But you can’t.” Metric measuring spoons are a must: 15ml for a tablespoon, 5ml for a teaspoon.

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The most common mistake in biscuit baking, she says, is putting them in the oven when they are already slightly warm. “If they’ve been left on top of the oven, or heavily kneaded by your kids, they will begin to melt before they are cooked,” she says. “Then they will collapse into blobs, which often happens when children make gingerbread men.” To avoid this, it is best to chill the dough before putting it in the oven. She demonstrates this with the jammy dodgers; they come out exactly the same shape and size as they went in.

The heat of the oven itself also has a vital role to play in biscuit success. Miranda recommends verifying the temperature with an oven thermometer, as a surprising number of ovens have “unreliable displays”. On the other hand, she says, it is OK to open the oven to check on biscuits when they’re cooking, something that would be disastrous when baking a cake. “Biscuits can be quite forgiving,” she says, brushing down her apron. “So long as you follow the recipe precisely, you can happily freeze the dough and bake them in stages over several days.”

Next she makes what she calls “biscuits for adventures”: knobbly, crunchy affairs made with oats and coconut. These, she recalls, were her favourites when she was little. “Just one bite reminds me of family summer holidays with camper vans, boats and tents.”

A key ingredient is bicarbonate of soda, which rescues the biscuit from the realm of the flapjack. “It gives it fluffiness,” she says. “The oats and coconut provide energy, and the golden syrup adds sweetness.” She takes great care to make them all the same size, as smaller ones cook quicker and are in danger of burning. Then she bakes them on a low-sided baking tray; a high-sided tray can mean the uneven distribution of heat, as the air cannot circulate properly.

Once baked, she rests them for five minutes. “Biscuits come out soft and then harden gradually,” she explains. “Don’t worry – if they’re still too soft after resting, you can just pop them in again. As I said, biscuits can be very tolerant things.”

Finally, Miranda moves on to a rather more exotic creation: salted caramel sandwiches. “These are sophisticated, after-dinner biscuits,” she explains. “The salt, chocolate and nuts tie together in perfect harmony.” This unusual but delicious combination is one of her favourites, and the ideal way to end a long summer dinner party.

A chocolate ganache provides the filling, piped between two discs of crispy almond biscuit. “The biscuits have quite a brittle texture, so you need to work them quickly before they set,” she says. “The trick with the ganache is to let it stand for an hour at room temperature — this will thicken it up.” When all the biscuits are ready, Miranda digs in with unmistakable gusto.

“I’ve made thousands of biscuits in my life,” she says, “but they still give me a thrill. After all, that’s the point of baking: the eating.”

5 cm and 3 cm round metal cutters, or a tumbler and bottle cap of the sizes suggested (you need at least 1 cm of biscuit around the central hole)

Method

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the egg a little at a time, Beating well after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is properly combined.

Sift the flour and ground almonds (if using) into the mixture.

Mix well, but stop as soon as a dough starts to form because overmixing can make the biscuits tough. Bring the dough together with your hands, divide in half and flatten each piece into a large disc about 1 cm thick. Wrap each disc tightly in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Mark 4 and line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Place the chilled dough between two sheets of cling film and roll out to a thickness of 3–4 mm. Using the large cutter, stamp out 24 circles of dough. Use the smaller cutter to stamp out a central hole in half of them.

Place the circles on the prepared trays, spacing them at least 3 cm apart. Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden and mottled underneath.

Allow the biscuits to cool on their trays for about 10 minutes, then use a palette knife to transfer them carefully to a wire rack. They will harden as they cool.

When they are completely cold, sandwich them together with jam – about 1 generous teaspoon per biscuit. Ideally, leave them for a day after making so the biscuits have time to stick properly and absorb some gooeyness from the jam. This is particularly important if you are giving them as a present, otherwise they will slide apart.

Biscuits for adventures

Ingredients

85g desiccated coconut

85g rolled oats

100g plain flour

100g caster sugar

100g unsalted butter

1 heaped tbsp golden syrup

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tbsp boiling water

Makes at least 18

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Mix the coconut, oats, flour and caster sugar in a bowl.

Melt the butter in a pan, then add the golden syrup. Put the bicarbonate of soda in a cup, add the boiling water, then pour this into the butter mixture. It will froth and increase in volume. Add to the dry ingredients and stir gently.

Put heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared baking trays, placing them at least 5cm/2in apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Allow to firm up on their trays for about 5 minutes, then use a palette knife to transfer them carefully to a wire rack. They will keep for a week in an airtight container.

Salted caramel sandwiches

MAKES ABOUT 30

Ingredients

50 g unsalted butter

50 g caster sugar

35 g soft light brown sugar

2 tbsp double cream

55 g unskinned almonds, chopped

40 g plain flour, preferably sifted

½ tsp sea salt

FOR THE GANACHE

125 g dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa solids

25 g dark chocolate, about 40% cocoa solids, such as Bourneville

150 ml double cream

150 g light muscovado sugar

2 tsp sea salt flakes

YOU WILL ALSO NEED

Piping bag (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Mark 4 and line three baking trays with non-stick baking paper. If you have only two trays, bake the final batch of biscuits when the first two are done, but remember to cool the tray first.

Put the butter, sugars and cream in a pan and heat gently to melt together. Bring to the boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring all the time. Add the almonds, flour and salt and stir well to combine.

Working quickly, as the mixture is hard to handle when it sets, place half teaspoonfuls of it on each of the prepared trays, spacing them at least 3 cm apart. (I use a metric half-teaspoon levelled off, then scoop the mixture out with a small palette knife.)

Flatten the spoonfuls a little, then bake for 8–10 minutes, until golden and flat. Allow to cool on their trays for 10 minutes, then use a palette knife to transfer them carefully to a wire rack. Leave until cold.

To make the filling, finely chop both types of chocolate and put into a heatproof bowl with all the other ingredients. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and keep stirring until everything has melted and is shiny and thick. Remove from the heat and allow to stand (not in the fridge) for about 1 hour to thicken further.

Spoon or pipe the filling onto the underside of half the biscuits, top with the remaining biscuits and press together gently.